Bells

As this is one of the prettiest times of the year to visit ‘my park’ I thought I would take you on a little walk. Everything is so green and as the theme of my post is ‘bells’, it is a good time to show you all the bluebells that are now in full bloom!

I really don’t think my photos do them justice as the sea of blue is just amazing!

The blue and green together is so beautiful.

Weddings ‘bells’ next and as it’s now less than seven weeks to my daughter’s wedding, the invitations have been sent out. They have been designed by my graphic designer son in the style of a vintage French postcard.

I’m afraid this is a very tenuous link to the ‘bells’ theme but as I promised I would share it, this is how the ‘Bell’s’ kitchen now looks after the revamp!

I don’t have a huge kitchen but much better use of the space has been made and as the decorator has now finished painting it is all now complete, thankfully!!

So it’s the weekend again, can you believe it!!

Thanks as always for visiting me here in my little space, I love it when you stop by and say hello and please know that your comments are much appreciated.

Wishing you all a happy, sunny, springtime weekend!

 

Warhol in Belfast

We took in a bit of culture on Saturday when we visited the Andy Warhol exhibition in the MAC (Metropolitan Art Centre) in Belfast.

We have been meaning to go for weeks and something always got in the way but with only a week left of the exhibition, this past weekend we made a point of seeing it.

It wasn’t a huge exhibition but very interesting all the same. Andy Warhol is one of those artists that I think you either love or loathe. I have to say I love him. His images always take me back to my son’s and daughter’s GCSE and ‘A’ Level art days when he was always used as a point of reference. My son in particular was a fan. Those Campbell soup tins were always in the sketch books and if there is one thing I found disappointing about the exhibition is that there wasn’t a soup tin in sight!

Worth seeing??? Absolutely!

 

St George & St Patrick

Yesterday we paid a visit to one of Belfast’s famous attractions, St George’s Market. They run a City Food and Craft market on Saturday mornings.

St George’s market was built between 1890 and 1896 so it has been on the go for quite a few years now and it’s great that this old Victorian market is still in use.

There was all kinds of produce, lots of lovely fruit and veg, I bought some lovely new season rhubarb for rhubarb crumble.

Some local produce and some with it’s origins from further afield.

There were cupcakes galore and the results of some very busy Northern Irish hens!!!

I loved this as it’s my son’s name, the christian names are different but the initials are the same!

There were lots of crafts on display too and joy, there was even a little yarn stall, where I may have purchased a couple of balls of yarn (it would have been rude not too!!!).

We were well entertained too!

And as today is St Patrick’s Day there were plenty of goodies on sale to help with the celebrations!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

Happy St Patrick’s Day to you all!

 

Christmas In The City

I live about 20 miles from the city of Belfast but it’s a place I visit almost every Saturday (it’s where all the best shops are). Twenty minutes on the motorway and we are in the city centre, it’s a place I love.

There is no doubt it sometimes gets a bad press (sometimes more than sometimes) but show me any society where there aren’t a few idiots (or ejits as we say here)! The media do have a lot to answer for as things are often blown out of all proportion.

Belfast in the weeks leading up to Christmas has been like any other city anywhere in the world, sparkling with lights with people busy shopping and making their Christmas preparations.

Today I thought I’d share some of the lovely festive images of our capital city!

I have to say thanks again to my Hb for the photos, I was too busy shopping to take photos!

We have a very misty morning here this morning but the sun is now breaking through and I think we’re going to have a lovely bright albeit chilly day!

Hope all your Christmas preps are going well, it’s only a week to go now!!!

Thanks as always for dropping in, thanks too for all your lovely comments on ‘Cranberry’ in my last post!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

 

My Autumn Colours Park

It has a been while since we had a little walk in ‘my park’! I took my camera with me yesterday when I went on my Sunday afternoon walk so that I could share with you how beautiful it is at this time of year. We had yet another sunny day, I can’t believe how fortunate we have been with the weather this October.

You can compare the above photo with this one, just to see the change!

There was lots of autumn colour about and Sunday was a good day to visit as the park staff wouldn’t have been sweeping up the leaves over the weekend so there were plenty to kick about and walk through.

Always lots of wildlife no matter what time of the year it is!

It wasn’t all gold, russet and brown though, there was still lots of greenery and plenty of berries for the birds to feast on over the coming months.

I do love the colours of autumn, they are my favourite colours of all.

I don’t think I would ever tire of this place and I feel so lucky that it’s only a ten minute walk from my front door.

The sky was beautiful yesterday too, blue with white whispy clouds. Autumn has definitely won me over this year!!

I do hope you enjoyed your autumn walk in my park!

It was still dry and mild today although no sun to speak off, I managed a day in the garden (always good), apparently though it’s going to get quite cold by the end of the week.

Have a great week, whatever you get up to!

 

Carrickfergus Castle

This past weekend was European Heritage Open Day Weekend with many places throwing open their doors for the public to visit for free. We always like to choose something different to do on this weekend every year, something we haven’t done before.

On Saturday, a very warm and sunny Saturday I have to say, we decided to visit Carrickfergus Castle. I hadn’t been since I was a child and despite working in Carrickfergus for a few years my husband had never been inside the castle. Even when the children were small we never visited as it was always somewhere they visited with school when they were studying the Norman Conquest.

A Norman castle, Carrickfergus Castle has been here for over 800 years, it has survived attacks by Scots, Irish, English and French and even served as an air raid shelter for the people of Carrickfergus during World War 2.

There are beautiful views of Belfast Lough from up on the walls, in the bottom right photo you can just see the cranes at Harland & Wolff shipyard. It was such a lovely day and the breeze coming off the lough was so warm, it’s not usually, believe you me!!

You could even have a go at some archery, which of course I did! I hit the target too, I think bow and arrows may be my choice of weapon from now on, so beware!!!

There were lots of dark little nooks and crannies!

So glad this fellow was looking out for us!

I love the way these little plants grow in the walls!

Lots to see inside and out.

As you can see the town of Carrickfergus has been a landing spot for a few Royals over the years.

It was a very enjoyable day out and the weather was wonderful, unlike today!!

It has been a very damp and dismal and noticeably cooler start to the week I’m afraid.

Here’s hoping for some improvement as the week goes along. Have a good one!

 

Day Trips

Last week, with my husband off work on holidays, we had a week of days out and about. We visited gardens, went to the seaside (twice), a garden centre, for walks, we had picnics and meals out and throughly enjoyed a lovely week with very good weather (only a shower or two).

So this is a post full of photos of our week at home and all the flora and fauna and scenery we encountered along the way!

Well I had to leave my calling card, didn’t I!!!

If you made it to the end, thank you for your perseverance!
Being a blogger makes you look harder ~ don’t you think!!!

Happy new week everyone.

 

My New Life Park

I thought another visit to ‘my park’ was in order now that there are some new arrivals!

There are quite a few new swan families on the lake, all of course very beautiful.

The little ones are quite trusting but I wish they weren’t, not all humans are nice.

Mum and Dad however are not as trusting and when they think you’ve over stepped the mark, they let you know in no uncertain terms!

“This is my new baby and you’re close enough!!!”

“Come on little ones, those humans have taken enough photos!”

There are some new little goslings too! The geese are my favourite park birds, I love their attitude and their bright orange beaks and feet and they have the most adorable babies too!

There are some little ducklings as well but the only time I saw them was one evening when unfortunately I had no camera with me. They were so sweet, 11 of them following their Mum like little floating pom poms. Mummy duck must keep them well hidden as I have never seen them since.

Cute or what???

 

Bushmills

Yesterday afternoon we paid a visit to the world famous Old Bushmills Distillery, the oldest working whiskey distillery in Ireland.

And what was our reason for visiting this facinating destination?

Well this time it wasn’t to do the tour and whiskey tasting (I have to say though, Bushmills are extremely generous with their free samples;))

No this time we were there for ‘Bushmills Live’, a music festival celebrating local music.

So not only was there homegrown whiskey but homegrown talent too!

Of course if we’re talking homegrown talent, that means General Fiasco were most definitely there!

Some more local talent that some of you who are into your popular music might recognise ~ Snow Patrol! I have to say they were amazing!!! Thanks go to my OH for the band photos, my little camera couldn’t cope with smoke machines and strange lighting.

Can I just say that I’m not sponsored by Bushmills Distillery or the Northern Ireland Tourist Board just proud of our local talent and industrial history!

It really was a lovely evening out and although overcast it did stay dry which is more than I can say for today! It looks like late autumn outside. I heard on the radio today that we are to get the equivalent of 2 months rain in the next 3 weeks!! I do hope they’ve got that one wrong!

Wishing you all a great weekend.

 

Olympic Flame In Belfast

This evening the Olympic Flame reached Belfast on it’s tour around the UK.

The crowds turned out to welcome it!

There was a huge cheer as the caldron was lit! (Sorry about the photo quality, everyone one wanted a pic)

And if all that wasn’t enough, we had General Fiasco (only the best band in the country) entertaining the crowd!!

Proud Mum?? Always!